The present invention relates to an air bag module with a mounting clip
Early curtain air bags included a number of tabs which extended from a top region of the air bag, each of the tabs included a mounting hole into which was placed a threaded bolt. Subsequently, the bolt was threaded into and tightened in the roof rail of the vehicle, thereby mounting the air bag to the roof rail. Typically these tabs extended from a narrow, cylindrically-shaped cover that enclosed the previously folded air bag. Prior to installation in the vehicle the air bag inflator was secured to the folded air bag; the air bag, inflator and cover defined the curtain air bag module. During attachment of the module to the vehicle, the module was held generally in place near the roof rail, the operator placed a fastener through one of the tabs and then the fastener was tightened, securing the tabs to the roof rail. Thereafter, mounting bolts were used to secure the remaining tabs. Often, as the curtain air bag was mounted to the vehicle, the tabs would rotate and become twisted as the mounting bolt/fastener was tightened to its full torque upon the roof rail, which made it difficult to properly secure the subsequently secured tabs, which required the operator to repeat portions of the mounting process. A system that prevents this twisting or rotation would be said to include an “anti-twist” feature. Also, these early air bag modules lacked the ability to enable the operator to simply place or locate the air bag to a roof rail prior to securing the air bag via a mounting bolt; having this ability speeds assembly of the air bag/air bag module to the roof rail. Being able to place or locate the air bag prior to tightening the bolts is referred to in the art as “prefixing” or “pre-fixation.”
Surprisingly, even though the mounting bolt was tightened to its specified torque limit, over time these mounting bolts tended to become loose due to the changing characteristics of the air bag material forming the mounting tab. The loosening of the bolt is referred to in the art as “backout” or “torque-relaxation” and a system that avoids this deficiency is said to include an anti-backout or “anti-torque relaxation” feature.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a curtain air bag module and mounting clip having one or all of the following features: prefixation, anti-twist, anti-backout (“anti-torque relaxation”) as well as the ability to hold or retain a bolt in the clip prior to and during the attachment to the vehicle, which is referred to herein as fastener or bolt retention.
The present invention includes an air bag module comprising: a curtain air bag having an inflatable portion and a mounting portion, the mounting portion including opposing first and second mounting sides or surfaces; a mounting bracket for the inflatable curtain air bag, comprising first and second plates, each plate engagable with a respective first or second mounting side or surface, the first plate having a first opening and the second plate having a second opening; the first plate about the first opening, including a plurality of bendable first tabs, each first tab deformable through the second opening to provide a crimp contact between the first plate and the second plate thereby trapping the mounting portion of the air bag between the first and second plates. The mounting portions of the air bag include tabs extending therefrom and regions of a non-inflatable peripheral border.